Forever Young
by loquaciouslethality
Summary: It was going to be a night to remember. When three of my friends plan a suprise for me, I didn't know what to expect. pogue/oc.
1. Chapter 1

**(a/n)** Due to some strange writers block, I haven't been able to write anything for OffBeat Normality, or anything else. Then, while I was doing the dishes, I got a sudden idea. Why not do the one-shot for Pogue that I've been meaning to write for the longest time? So, here 'tis! Though, this might end up being a two-shot...all depends on how it turns out. (I never plan my one-shots.)

**_Forever Young_**

_by:_

LoquaciousLethality

"Gabby, snap out of it!"

Jerking my gaze away from a certain tawny headed guy's behind, I looked over my shoulder at Betty, the one who had yelled at me. Even through she was glaring at me, with her arms folded over her chest, she wasn't angry at me. In fact, she was laughing at me. The little quiver in the corner of her mouth clued me into that fact as I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Oh, like that's mature." Betty snorted while I turned me whole body around to look at her while leaning against my closed locker.

"Who said anything about me being mature?" I retorted, making her laugh and drop the angry act. She shook her head at me and started talking to me. While she did, I couldn't help but zone out, the figure of the guy I'd been staring after taking over my brain.

"Damn it, Gabs, you're doing it again!" Betty yelled, slamming her locker door, mock glaring at me once again. I sighed, sending my light blonde bangs flying.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" she asked, quietly this time, and I nodded, crossing my arms and staring at my feet.

Yes, I was thinking about him. He was all that I could think about nowadays, even if I tried to stop from doing so. It was as though he had taken over my mind. I saw him in the hallways when he wasn't there. I thought I heard his voice across the room when he was quiet. It was crazy.

"I can't help it, Bets." I said with a shrug. "I've tried, believe me."

Betty was quiet, and when I looked up, I saw that she was chewing her lip like she did when she was thining hard.

"Do me a favor, hun." Betty said when she was done. "Get dressed up sexy like. You and I are going out tonight." she said with finality.

"Where?" I asked her asked turned to leave. When she turned around and just grinned at me, I caught the evil glint in her eyes, and gulped.

She was planning something, and that scared me.

--

About two hours later, I was standing in front of my closet, brain hurting slightly from all the homework I'd just finished. Now, I had to figure out what to wear. This was made even more difficult because Betty wouldn't tell me where we were going!

I was still standing there when the door opened and my roommate walked in.

"Naomi, help me please!" I nearly begged her when she closed the door behind her. "Betty is taking me out for a girls night, and told me to dress sexy, and I don't know what to wear because she won't tell me where we're going!" I rambled, making Naomi laugh.

"Chill woman!" she said as she walked to where I was standing. I shut my mouth as she contemplated my clothes, and I nearly missed the knowing glance she ssent my way before she dived in.

"You know, don't you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and placing my hands on my hips.

"Yup, but I can't tell you." she laughed, throwing something at my face that I barely caught before it fell onto the floor. It was a black singlet with silver sequins placed randomly in a star formation. I raised my eyebrow at the article of clothing, silently asking it why I was being left out of the loop, but shrugged it off as Naomi threw something else at me.

A black skirt that ended three inches above my knee lay innocently in my hands.

What was Naomi doing? Finding all my black clothes from my very brief emo stage?

That was soon cast aside when she threw something at my head again, and a light green tank top landed in the pile that was now growing in my hands. Which was soon added to when she placed my green converse on top of the pile. She knew I didn't wear heels. I was a walking disaster waiting to happen in those torture devices.

"Um...are you sure?" I asked, holding up the two tanks, and Naomi nodded.

"Put the green one on under the black one. It';; bring out your crazy eyes." she instructed, pushing me into the bathroom. "When you are done, come out so I can do your hair and make up!"

I stared at the door that was shut in my face, a grin fighting on my lips. I loved my friends.

Gleefully taking off the white Oxford shirt and grey pleated skirt, along with the ungly brown shoes, I took my hair out of the ponytail I had confined it in, and shook it out, the light blonde tresses landing right above the small of my back.

Putting on the skirt, the green tank, then the black one, I stared at my reflection, amazed. Naomi was right. The slight green added to my otherwise black outfit made my light green eyes pop out from under my bangs. Shoving my feet into the shoes, I opened the door to find Naomi dancing to the radio that was playing in the background.

Crossing my arms under my chest, I leaned against the doorjamb and grinned at my dancing friend. For all the clutzy-ness, Naomi could dance.

When the song was over, and she spun around to face me, I clapped, somewhat sarcastically. That quickly died though, when her jaw hung down to the ground.

"Wow." She said, seeing my confused look. "If I were lesbian, I'd do you." she added bluntly.

"Okay." I drawled, the southern accent coming out. "Whatever you say, 'Omi. Makes me glad you have Caleb." I muttered loud enough for her to hear.

Cue dreamy smile.

"Alright. Sit!" Naomi commanded when she snapped out of it.

Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front on Betty's door, waiting for her to answer. My hair, which had been lightly curled, was held back by a thick black and green ribbon tied around my head like a headband. There was a light dusting of grey eyeshadow with a slightly thick smidge of eyeliner above and below my eyes, making my eyes pop out even more. The mascara Naomi had used made my eyelashes look even thicker and longer. The only other thing was a coating of clear lipgloss.

The reaction that I got when Betts opened the door was priceless.

"Holy Toledo, Batman. You're hot!" she practically yelled for the whole world to hear.

I had to admit that she was looking pretty good herself. She was the only brunette I knew who could pull off a grey pleated mini-skirt with a white button down shirt tied above her belly button and electric blue four inch heels. Add to that pigtails with the same color ribbon holding them in, and that's classic Betty.

"So, you ready?" I asked her, and she nodded, grabbing her purse from the ground. Then, she literaly drug me through the halls, and threw me into her convertible. "Hey, what's the rush?" I asked, not panting but breathing harder than normal. I thanked soccer for that.

"We're late." was all she said as she gunned the car into gear and we shot off into the night...err. Dusk.

--

When we pulled into the parking lot of Nicky's, I couldn't help the tiny glare I sent to Betty. She had something planned, and I wasn't sure I was going to like it. All the other plans that she had included me in had ended up a disaster.

"Betty." I warned as we got out of the car.

"What? I'm innocent, I swear! Grace and Naomi planned all this!" she said, then clapped her hand over her mouth as though she chouldn't have said that.

"Oopsie?" she whispered when I glared at her even more. "Aww, come on. It'll be fun!" she cheered, and I knew I was going to break down.

And sure enough, I did. I never could stay mad at Betty for long. I've known her far to long for that. Since kindergarten, at least. I ate her crayon, she poured milk and cheerios down my diaper.

Even back then she was evil.

"Grace and Naomi planned thus, huh?" I asked, then grinned, rather shocking my friend who was expecting me to get angry. "Let's go then!" I added, then walkd up the steps and into the sports bar, or the local hang out

--

**(a/n)** Alright...this is going to be a two-shot. Please tell me what you think!

-Loqui


	2. Chapter 2

**(a/n)** Another installment of Forever Young! On a roll here! Now, if only I could think of something for my other stories...Oh, this might end up being a full lenght story, if I get enough people telling me they like it. hinthint.

Review thank you's and responses:

**szym:** me too! they scheme all the time...

**guardian music angel:** thank you!

**MoonWolfRunner:** you really want it to be longer? How long do you think would make you happy? Anything for my readers. :)

**CryingRosex3:** you are everywhere! thank you muchly!

**_Forever Young_**

by:

_LoquaciousLethality_

Once I was sitting down, and after telling Grace and Naomi that I was on to their little plan, I just sat back and had fun watching everyone. It wasn't often that I got to go out, and just having the chance to sit back and watch my friends have fun made me happy.

Betty had been sitting beside me, sipping on a Sprite, until something caught her attention over by the pool tables. I wouldn't be suprised if it was the blonde that caught Betty. Now, she was sitting on the edge of the table, legs crossed daintily as she laughed at something that had been said. Grace was dancing with Tyler, her boyfriend of a couple of weeks, throwing in some ballroom dance moves while Tyler spun her around, a soft smile on his face. Naomi and Caleb were playing fooseball, and by the way she was glaring halfheartedly at her boyfriend while containing a grin, I knew that Caleb was letting her win. Like he always did.

Actually, while I was putting on the face of someone who was fine, inside there was an ache. All my friends were with guys they liked and having fun. While they did, I was left to sit at the corner table and drink my Root Beer.

Humming the song that was playing on the jukebox under my breath, I sat back in the chair, the bottle dangling from my fingertips as though I was an experienced drinker.

Yeah, an experienced Root Beer drinker.

Closing my eyes against the artificial light, I mentally sang the words of the song, finding it funny that I could hear the words in my head even though I couldn't hear them over the crowd.

Halfway through the chorus, a warm body brushed against my arm that was holding the back of my neck while I lounged, then there was the sound of a chair being pulled out.

Then came the sound of a very male sounding groan and I froze at the sound. I knew that groan, I often heard it when Mr. Dobson called on him during History class.

Slowly opening my eyes, I paled slightly when I realized how close he was sitting to me, though not intentionally. The girls had to extra chairs to their already crowded table when Bets and I had showed up, saying that it was no problem.

I watched in helpless fascination as his long tan finger ran through his shoulder length hair, making his arms ripple with muscles that I could clearly see thanks to the black sleeve-less shirt he was wearing.

Blinking, I looked away, only to catch Betty's eye. She was laughing at me, clearly enjoying my agony.

"Smooth." she mouthed at me, and I briefly stuck my tongue out at her before looking back to the man (because he was clearly _not_ a boy) and fought hard not to oogle as he ran his hand down his face.

"Rough day?" I asked before taking another drink.

"You could say that." he muttered, then raised his head, an adorable look of confusion crossing his face. "Do I know you?" he asked, and I bit back a sigh.

"I sit right behind you in History and two of my friends are dating your friends." I told him, motioning to Naomi and Grace. "And maybe a third friend." I added when I saw Bets leaning in closed to hear something Reid was saying as he bent to hit a pool ball.

There was a brief silence as he thought.

"Gabrielle Hudson?" he asked, a single eyebrow raising as he took in my outfit.

"Gabby." I corrected with my bottle laden hand. "And yes, that's me. You are Pogue Parry."

"Yup." he said, once again running his hand through his hair, though it was useless, seeing as those particular stubborn strands refused to be pushed back into place, and kept coming to rest over his eyes. "Wait. You are Gabby Hudson?" he suddenly asked, leaning on the table with one elbow.

"Uh, unless there is another Gabby Hudson in Spencer, then yeah. I'm Gabby Hudson. Why?" I asked, confused. He shook his head slightly.

"Nothing." he muttered again. "Gah, bloody hell, I need a drink." he said, mostly to himself even though I heard.

I purposely misinterpreted his meaning of drink, and pushed the abandoned Coke Caleb had bought, and hadn't even sipped, towards him.

"Enjoy." I said with a wave of my hand, leaning back in my chair, a grin playing on the edges on my mouth as I caught my friends amused looks as Pogue gaped at me.

There was another silence, but this one wasn't those awkward, heavy silences. This one was enjoyable as we both took drinks from our respective bottles or cups. It amazed me that I wasn't searching around for something to fill the silence. In truth though, I didn't feel the need to. This felt normal, good.

"Dude. Why aren't you out there on the dance floor?" came the cocky voice of Betty's blonde, Reid, breaking the silence as Cascada's Every Time We Touch came on over the jukebox.

"No girls." Pogue muttered vaugely, and I caught the meaningful looks my friends were sending my way. Even Caleb and Tyler were in on it! Reid just smirked my way. Him too? Oh please, dear Lord.

"Oh, so what am I? Chopped fish guts?" I found myself asking, placing my now empty bottle on the table. Pogue's head popped up from where it was being supported by his other hand.

"Uh...no?" he asked. "That's not what I meant." he said, trying to fix the situation. Reid's smirk just got bigger as I crossed my arms under my chest.

"Oh, so what do you mean? I'm not girl enough?" I asked, actually enjoying myself as I taunted this yummy man.

"No...wait...yes." he stuttered. "Bugger this." he suddenly stated, and stood up, making the chair screech against the floor.

"Wanna dance?" he asked, holding a hand out to me. My grin changed to a genuine smile as I took his hand. The tired look in his eyes faded slightly as he lead me to the dance floor.

Once in the middle of the floor, he stopped but didn't let go of my hand. Turning my hand so that it was palm to palm with his and our fingers were laced together, I brought it up to his heart level, and started to sway my hips and body in time with the beat. Soon, he followed my hesitant example and started to do the same, though coming closer that I normally had wanted, hips touching mine, a single leg going between mine for balance. But when his other hand went to rest on my hip and his head went to rest between my shoulder and neck, I suddenly didn't mind the closeness. I closed my eyes as his hot breath ghosted over the bare skin of my neck, and the movement of my hips felt slightly more pronounced with his hand on one side, as though he were guiding my hips for me. My free hand went unconciously to rest on the back of his neck, idly playing with his hair. Sometimes, he would move our clapsed hands as he changed the way we faced, as though we were swing dancing. Somehow, even through there was a strong beat, this was relaxing.

When the song changed to one that I didn't know, he raised his head and used the hand on my hip to send me out in a spin, changing our hands so that when I came back, I found myself in the traditional waltz position.

Looking up from his chest, I met his gaze, and saw that all the signs of stress that had been there before were now gone. The little lines around his eyes and mouth had smoothed out, and he was actually smiling at me as he made us waltz to a dance I was sure wasn't made to be waltzed to. There had been feet stepped upon, and people bumped into.

By the time the song was done, I was being held up by his stong arms, I was laughing so hard. In my defence, he was too. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time.

We stumbled over to the table, where our friends were sitting, minus Grace and Tyler who were dancing still, and Pogue helped me sit down, since I was still laughing. Pogue himself was chuckling as he pulled out his chair and took a sip of his drink.

"That was interesting." Betty's voice said in my ear, from where she sat by my other side. I grinned at her, while swiping her water from under her nose. "Hey now!" she cried when I drank half of it in one gulp.

Yes, that was interesting. But it was wonderful at the same time.

--

**(a/n)** I think I can safely say that this won't be a two-shot. To much going on to end it right there. Plus, Pogue is one of my very most favorite guys, so I'm having fun.

Please tell me what you think!

-Loqui


End file.
